Photo: John Sibley/Reuters

Chelsea were knocked out of the EFL Cup on Wednesday, following a 2-1 defeat to West Ham at the London Stadium, and the Blues boss Antonio Conte has admitted that Chelsea’s exit from the EFL Cup will affect the youngsters.

The Chelsea boss said: “This cup was very important to check the development of these young players. I think we have good young players and they need to play and for this reason I am disappointed that we can’t play in the future.

The Blues boss revealed he was impressed with their performances against West Ham and insisted he saw “positive things” in his first cup defeat in English football.

“When you lose, it’s normal to see only the bad things. I found a lot of positive things. I see the future more clearly.” said Conte.